Category: Ridiculous but Real: Stories from Molly

Behind the Scenes: Shooting a T1D Marketing Campaign

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Last week, I had the exciting opportunity to participate in a T1D marketing campaign! I won’t say too much about the brand or product itself, because I don’t want to share more than I’m allowed, but I WILL say that there is some very cool stuff in the works for the diabetes community – and that’s a total understatement.

A couple stills from the shoot…
…I still can’t believe that’s me!

And I also wanted to share what it was like to be on a production set like that! I arrived in Atlanta late on Thursday night, woke up early on Friday, and got myself ready to head over to the shoot for 11 A.M. From there, it was a long blur of a day. I was whisked from wardrobe to hair/makeup to a holding room to one room filled with wicked bright lights and dozens of people to another room with a plain backdrop and just a few people to another room that’s best described as a closet. Actually, that latter room was where I did an audio-only interview, and I felt just like Harry Potter in the fourth book when he was being interviewed by Rita Skeeter in a broom cupboard. Except I wasn’t being grilled by a nosy reporter like he was; on the contrary, my interviewer couldn’t have been friendlier.

This whole process took about seven hours – that’s a pretty long while to be going around from room to room and having to be on my feet for varying lengths of time. But it was so exciting that I didn’t mind one bit.

But I DID mind my blood sugars; at least, as much as I could when I wasn’t having my makeup touched up or staring into a camera, responding to questions. I had no clue how it would fare after several hours on location and minimal physical activity. I was also worried about the food/drink situation: Would I have access to ample snacks and beverages?

Fortunately, that was a total non-issue. The production company had numerous snacks and bottled water in nearly every room on set, on top of a hot lunch. Around one o’clock in the afternoon (five hours after I ate breakfast), I helped myself to a serving of salmon, squash, and green beans. I was impressed with the quality and healthiness of the food, and even more pleased to discover that among the diet drinks was unsweetened iced tea and sparkling water. Score!

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Not perfect, but manageable and steady. A win in my book.

This food kept me fueled all throughout the afternoon on set, and I enjoyed steady blood sugars for the duration of the shoot. Rather than stressing about my blood sugar, I was focusing on posing for photos and answering prompts from producers. It really, truly was a one-of-a-kind experience. I feel so lucky to have been invited to partake in this campaign, and even luckier to have met a diverse and welcoming group of individuals (T1D and non-T1D) along the way.

On top of all that, I proved to myself that I CAN do “crazy” and unique things like this without my diabetes getting in the way. It’s more proof that diabetes will never stop me from living a full and extraordinary life.

Undeterred by a Broken Ulna

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The morning of Tuesday, January 23rd, I took a bit of a tumble. I fell on some black ice in my driveway and managed to fracture a bone in the process: my ulna, which is the longer and thinner bone located in the forearm. I broke the one located in my dominant arm and have spent the past few days in a brace. I’ll get a real cast put on it early next week.

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Please enjoy this gratuitous shot of my arm in a brace, featuring the sleeve of my dinosaur sweatshirt.

I waited a few days before writing a blog post about it for several reasons. For starters, I struggled with teaching myself how to type with limited range of motion in one hand. Actually, I struggled doing most things with just one hand. Brushing my hair, putting clothes on, feeding myself…every mundane task has become a challenge. It’s been especially difficult to accept that I need to allot myself twice the amount of time to do just about anything because I have no choice but to move slowly. I’m an incredibly impatient person, so this has been a hard truth to come to terms with. But I’m getting there.

Taking care of my diabetes is also included on the list of everyday tasks that are now tricky. I dislike having to rely on others for help, but I’ve got to say that changing my pod with one hand is far from easy. It feels like I’d be flirting with disaster if I were to hold a precious vial of insulin in an awkward grip as I made an attempt to fill a syringe, then a pod, with my shaky left hand. Fortunately, my parents are more than willing to help me when I need it – thanks guys – and I’m able to do other things, like check my blood sugar, on my own.

The healing process is expected to be about six weeks, so it won’t be too bad. I’m just going to have to adapt to life with one functioning arm/hand. There’s one thing that’s certain, though: I’m not going to let this stop me from doing anything I want to do! (Within reason, of course. Let’s just say I won’t be taking a boxing class any time soon, even though I’d really like to.) Just like diabetes, a broken bone can’t stop me. I’ve even managed to get 10,000 or more steps each day since the injury happened – including the day of the fracture! I could’ve chosen to pardon myself from exercise and stew over the pain, but I wanted to prove to myself that I’m both physically and mentally stronger than my excuses. After all, the rest of my body is in perfect working order. I’ve just got to keep it that way!

Cardio Workouts, Stink Bugs, and Diabetes

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…What could those three things possibly have to do with each other?

Turns out, a lot more than you think. At least, if your name is Molly, you have diabetes, you do workouts in the mornings, and on top of all that, you have a paralyzing fear of bugs.

All of these things created a bit of a perfect storm last week during the early morning hours. My day started out normally: My alarm blared at 6:15, I rolled out of bed, changed into exercise clothes, and hit the play button on my DVD player. I completed a grueling half hour “Total Body Cardio Fix”, a series of exercises that are a part of the 21 Day Fix program. By the end of the workout, I was sweating profusely, but proud of myself for keeping up with this relatively new addition into my morning routine.

I proceeded getting ready (take shower, get dressed, do make-up). Towards the end of my make-up application, as I was blending concealer under my eyes in an attempt to cover up the dark circles, I happened to spot something on my carpet out of the corner of my eye. I hunched down to take a closer look and initially though it was a clump of stray threads on my floor – but I very quickly discovered it was something else. A nasty, ugly stink bug!!! Ugh, I hate those things. They’re so icky to look at, they FLY, and they release a horrible odor when you smoosh them. There is legitimately nothing to appreciate about them.

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My hyper-realistic rendering of what stink bugs look like. Those little squiggles represent their malodorous manner. The evil expression, though, is pure speculation on the artist’s part, as she has never gotten close

If you know me well enough, you know that I have what my parents kindly refer to as the “bug scream”. That’s how much I dislike creepy crawlies of all varieties. So as it dawned on me that I was looking right at one, I blood-curdling one escaped my lips and I ran as fast as I could out of my room. Unfortunately, though, I had to scamper back in to grab my test kit, PDM, and CGM so I could figure out what to do while I had my breakfast.

As I paced back and forth in the kitchen, trying to come up with a bug elimination stratagem, I heard a “BUZZBUZZBUZZ” from the other room. No, it wasn’t another bug – thanks heavens for that – but it was my CGM. The combination of early morning cardio and bug-induced mania must’ve done the trick. So there I was, in my absolute prime (not!): shaking, sweating, and most probably looking like a crazy person as I blended a breakfast shake together. Not cute.

Of course, the blood sugar issue was taken care of pronto. The bug issue, however? That was addressed. Eventually…

…meaning that my mother was my savior and eliminated the BUGger (sorry for the terrible pun*) later that evening. Thanks, mom.

 

*Not actually sorry for terrible puns because I love all puns!!!